It started with a promise to Micheala. I promised her that I would do everything that I could to raise $10,000 for the JDRF Walk this year. I had to explain to her that this will not make her "undiabetic" today, but this money will go a long way in helping find a cure in what we hope is the near future. Well.....WE DID IT! I have not got the official total yet, but as of the Saturday morning of the walk, we raised $10,464! It was a lot of hard work an generous donations by a lot of people. We had about 67 people walk and support us the day of the walk and it was a fun time had by all. I have this check hanging in my office today to remind me that you can do anything you put your mind to....focus and don't listen to the doubters...have faith in yourself. Thanks to everyone that helped us meet our goal!
I also wanted to include the Kool-Aid story:
The Kool-Aid Stand
As parents, there are certain times that we couldn't be more proud of our children. This just happens to be one of those moments for me.
As we near the end of our fundraising efforts for JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation), I have been stressed out to the max. Friday evening, Heather and I were having a conversation about what to do to raise the final bit of money that we need to reach our team goal of $10,000. We had already raised quite a bit of money and were really close, but close doesn't cut it as I made a promise to Micheala to do everything that I could to raise $10,000. Micheala and I were both suffering from a virus; she had a temp of 103 and I was not feeling the greatest. Heather and I went back and forth; we've exhausted all of our friends and family, had a silent auction, sold t-shirts and even cleaned carpets for a day. What else was there to do? How were we going to meet our goal? As our discussion ended, I got up and took our dog outside to go to the bathroom.
After 10 minutes, I came back into the house to be greeted by Micheala; who was once laying down but now was sitting upright. She says to me, "Dad, I have an idea how to raise money to make me undiabetic!" I said, "Ok Micheala, let's hear it."
She proceeds to tell me that tomorrow she can build a kool-aid stand and sell our kool-aid in our driveway to people and that will raise money for kids to be undiabetic.
I left the room and was followed out by Heather. I am man enough to admit that this put me in quite an emotional state. Here lays my 5 year old diabetic daughter, with a fever of 103, barly with enough strength to get up and use the bathroom, wanting to build a kool-aid stand and sell kool-aid to help out. How does a 5 year old have so much unselfish perspective?
We told K'la that she could do this if she wanted to and she quickly got her older sister Dylanne on board. So we purchased 2 pieces of poster board and some plastic cups and told K'la that if she was feeling better by Wednesday that she could follow through with her idea. She was excited.
I gained a great deal of perspective from this. Micheala knows only through her experiences what diabetes is. She doesn't understand that this disease is killing her dad and may cause her complications in the the future. She doesn't understand what "research" means nor does she have a total grasp on the importance of the JDRF Walk for the Cure and why we raise money. To her it is simple.....raise money to be undiabetic. What she knows or feels is that she needs to do something to help and this is the best way in her mind to do just that. A cup full of pennies is a lot of money to her, which brings me to understand that it's not entirely just about raising money, but about being part of something special...being part of the cure.
So Wednesday night, in 40 degree weather, K'la, Dylanne, Heather and myself will be in our driveway, in Urbana Iowa, selling our sugar free Kool-Aid to raise money for Team Pump Princess and JDRF. We may only sell a glass or two, but I think the real victory will be watching my 2 girls contribute to a great cause, not because they were told to do so by some adult, but because they chose to.
Thanks to our friends, family and neighbors...The Kool-Aid Stand made $343 on Wednesday night between the hours of 5pm-6pm. The girls were so proud.
